Undone
by annaliesegrace
Summary: Kono's connection to a victim creates strain in her still new relationship with Steve.
1. Chapter 1

Title: Undone

Author: annaliese grace

Rated: T for themes.

Disclaimer: Shockingly enough, I don't own H50, the characters are theirs, the ideas are mine.

Summary: Kono's connection to a victim creates strain in her still new relationship with Steve.

AN1: THANK YOU to all that took the time to review Unseen. Undone is a sequel to Unseen, but now the "Un" stories will be a trilogy, there will be one more story after this. And the reason for that is I had this great idea to continue Unseen, sat down to write it and this came out…which was NOT the original great story idea. This one came from the idea that Steve would do anything for those around him, not out of malice of course but because he wants to understand, and sometimes just doesn't think it through.

Enjoy and please feel free to review…

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><p>Chapter One: Colors<p>

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><p>Warm fingers gliding across her naked back along with even warmer lips pressed to her shoulder woke Kono from a deep sleep. Not opening her eyes she let out a quiet moan into the pillow she was face down in. The fingers danced down, grazing the skin just above her behind, then gliding back up her spine, pushing her hair out of the way as he moved across her shoulder and down her upper arm before tracing back the same way. As his hand pushed the sheet down so it pooled at her hips, his lips pressed to the skin of her back, moving down at a languorous pace. It was torture, but of the oh-so enjoyable kind.<p>

When his lips found the dip at the base of her spine, above the swell of her behind, Kono arched her hips up while his fingers dug into the skin of her hips and she let out a sound that was more a whimper than anything. Yeah, it was an undignified and needy sound, but damn if she cared. The things this man could do to her body were mind blowing. Really it should be illegal.

Suddenly his touch was gone and just as she was about to pick up her head and look for him, a hand landed near her shoulder on the bed and she felt him hovering above her. An extremely loud crack of thunder startled them both and Kono laughed lightly until he nipped at her earlobe and she let out a moan of pleasure. His teeth and lips kissed and gently bit down the curve of her neck as Kono wiggled under him, antsy for more. But today Steve was clearly in no mood to get to the good stuff, he wanted to draw it out…which she approved of, wholeheartedly.

As it turned out it was poor planning on his part. Because when his cell phone went off as his hand was moving up her side, just brushing the underside of her breast Steve all but dropped onto her in frustration at being interrupted.

"Think we can ignore that?" he asked into the soft skin of her shoulder.

"Depends. If it's Danny…yes."

Grumbling, he rolled off and Kono watched with amusement as he swore under his breath several more times before picking up the phone with a terse "McGarrett". As he spoke she knew it was dispatch and Kono got out of bed, intentionally taking her time as she picked up clothes that had been scattered in haste the night before, dropping them into a corner chair she had appropriated for her stuff. Another rumble of thunder clapped overhead and she knew it would start pouring rain soon.

Kono could feel his eyes boring into her naked back as she stepped into the bathroom and washed up (thankfully she had showered the night before) and got dressed in fresh clothes that Kono had gotten in the habit of leaving at his place. It hadn't taken but one weekend call when they were supposed to be off duty and she was incredibly late to the scene because she'd had to drive home for appropriate clothes before she was leaving a spare set in one of his drawers.

As she buckled her belt he appeared behind her, kissing the top of her head.

"What is that, the third time in two weeks?"

She grinned. "That worked called us? Not that unusually really, I'd be concerned if they didn't call us."

"Hilarous, Kalakaua. You know what I meant."

She did, it was the third time in two weeks dispatch had called, interrupting them at an inopportune moment. Kono was pretty sure that was because since they started sleeping together nearly six months ago, they could barely keep their hands off each other. Their relationship burned hot, that was certain. Sometimes she wondered if maybe it was too hot and they were headed for an early burn out. Steve was intense at work and that didn't change away from Five-0, which she sometimes struggled to deal with. The man was never "off" unless he was sleeping and even then Kono wasn't convinced his dreams weren't tightly wound.

But at the same time he could be incredibly thoughtful and sweet and passionate.

Pulling her hair back into what she thought would come off as an intentionally messy ponytail instead of just messy messy; Kono turned and kissed him quickly on the lips.

"Got the address for me?"

He returned the kiss and held up a piece of paper which she swiftly nabbed as the rain started pounding on the roof in a loud and steady pattern. "Tell me its inside," she mumbled to herself and then looked at the address, disappointed when she realized it was a beach that was fairly secluded but popular with local surfers.

"Hey," he called out as she was halfway through the door. "Nana pono."

Kono stopped and smiled widely. "Na manawa apua."

The words were simple but it was their routine, the same words every time they parted for a crime scene. Because neither wanted to be overt about their personal relationship, they always arrived to crime scenes separately, never drove into the office together and never left together. At work they were extremely conscious of remaining professional around each other.

Of course, the rest of the team knew and it made Kono smile every time she thought of how Danny had been the first to find out, unfortunately the hard way.

They had, however, run into various beat cops and detectives while off duty at the beach or having a quiet dinner. It didn't take long for the rumors to start racing around HPD and pretty soon everyone knew but no one was stupid enough to talk about it, at least in front of them. It was possibly the worst kept secret in the history of HPD.

The beach was not far from Steve's place, they had been there two weeks before themselves, surfing and enjoying some rare down time so Kono arrived quickly. Just in time to watch from the safety of her car as Danny attempted to help Max erect a small tent over the body to keep anymore of the evidence from washing away in the continuing rain. All she could see was Danny gesturing wildly and Max nodding and then (somehow) the tent was up. Kono thought it was a futile effort but appreciated the thought nonetheless.

Stepping out of the car, she did nothing except walk swiftly; being Hawaii, it was a warm, not entirely unpleasant rain.

Approaching the two, she was about to make a smartass comment about Danny's hair, which had gone every which way in the rain and then she caught sight of the body lying face up on the sand.

And she took a giant step back, nearly colliding with Chin, who had appeared out of what seemed to be nowhere.

"Cuz?" he asked when he saw her stricken face.

All she could do was shake her head and continue to look down. Finally Chin's gaze followed hers and he sucked in a deep breath, muttering "shit" under his breath.

Danny looked between the cousins, obviously confused, before speaking, "You know this guy? He didn't have ID."

"Yeah," Chin responded. "Yeah…Name's Ano Kalani."

Danny waited expectantly, anticipating more from the pair and when Chin didn't continue he prodded. "And…you know him….how?"

"I, uh…" Kono started then stopped, gathering herself somewhat. "We dated."

Chin sent her a sharp glance but Kono didn't elaborate further.

It was then a deep voice called from behind them, "Sorry guys, the governor called as I was heading out of the house. What do we have?"

The group looked at Steve and Kono paled slightly, Steve knew very little of her previous relationships, they just didn't talk about it. Kono wasn't sure if that was because they both had secrets they didn't want to admit to in a still-new relationship or they had been so busy enjoying the physical aspects they hadn't bothered.

And Ano was an off limits subject for her. Even now looking at his body she felt anxious and was fighting the urge to run the other way.

Chin took the lead, "Vic is Ano Kalani…local surfer. I checked with HPD, he washed up this morning, found by some early morning surfers."

"Max?" Steve asked, somewhat oblivious to the tension in the space.

The corner was caught somewhat off guard since up to that point he had been largely ignored. "Oh, yes. Well, we have blunt force trauma to the back of the head. Could be fatal, but since he was pulled from the water I will have to wait until I complete the autopsy to determine if it was the blow that killed him, or if he drowned."

As he was talking, Max leaned over the body and moved the head just enough that the back was exposed, hair matted with blood.

Again Kono took a step back and gestured back to the crowd, her voice shaking slightly. "I'll go talk to the witness."

Now Steve noticed that Kono seemed unnerved and anxious to get away from the body. "Kono…"

Before she could get a word out, her name was called sharply from the gallery of onlookers and the group looked up to see a local pressed against the police tape, waving frantically.

"Is that-" Chin started but Kono cut him off with a relieved sigh.

"Yeah, I got it."

Steve still stood, looking confused and before she walked toward the waving man she turned back to him. "I need to…I'll be back."

Then she trotted across the beach, through the tapering rain and all Steve could do was watch her go, left in the unfamiliar state of being utterly confused about what was going on around him.

Chin took in the look on the younger man's face and pulled him to the side. The least he could was give their leader a high level overview of what was going on. His cousin could fill in the blanks as she saw fit.

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><p>"Kono!" The man yelled again even as she approached. "Is it him? Is it Ano?"<p>

Grimly she nodded. "Yeah, Hie…its Ano."

"Oh God, Kono. I just saw him yesterday…just yesterday."

Kono looked at the closest HPD and nodded before lifting the tape and allowing the other man through. Quickly he pulled her into a bear hug, not hard since Hie was twice her size, as tall as McGarrett but had at least seventy-five pounds on her boss.

"Ok…Hie, ok. Put me down big man." Just as quickly as she was swept up, Kono was released. "You saw Ano yesterday?"

"Yeah, he was here surfing…he's been doing that more lately…surfing. He was turning it around, Ki. I talked to him an hour yesterday, he looked good. Real good. I can't believe…"

"Was he still doing drugs, Hie?"

"No way, Ki. After…after you left." Her eyes narrowed dangerously at him but Hie continued. "He did what he needed to do, laid low for a couple years, kicked the stuff. Last year or so he's been surfing again, he was getting good again. He even mentioned you a couple weeks ago, was wondering what you were up to."

"What did you tell him?"

"Told him what I knew, you joined HPD and were part of some task force. He seemed real interested in that, I think he was going to try and contact you."

"Why, Hei? Do you know why he would contact me?"

The big man shrugged. "Apologize maybe. For how it…ended."

Kono shook her head. "I…no. I doubt that."

"I think he was really sorry."

Now Kono felt anger flush through her. "Sorry? Hei you know what he...never mind. It doesn't matter anymore; it was a long time ago."

"Sorry, Ki…I shouldn't have mentioned it."

"No, it's good. Was he having trouble with anyone? Fights, anything like that?"

"Not that I knew of. But I only saw him here, when he was surfing. I think he was renting a place somewhere close. That's all I know."

Pulling a card from her pocket, she handed it to the man. "Call me if you think of anything else, ok?"

Hei took the card and regarded it a moment before nodding. "I will, later, Ki."

"Later."

With that the man disappeared back behind the tape and suddenly Kono was exhausted and for the first time ever she really wished this call had not come in and that she was still in bed with Steve.

At least the rain had finally stopped.

Turning back toward the group, she noticed Steve having an intense conversation with Chin and she sighed. She knew her cousin would only reveal what he thought necessary, leaving the hard part to her if she chose to tell it. Because this was a part of her life she had left behind long ago, honestly Ano hadn't crossed her mind in years.

But as they all knew, the past had a bad habit of coming back to haunt them.

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><p>"What is going on?" Steve asked as he watched Kono get pulled into a hug by a local that she clearly knew.<p>

"Kono knows…knew the vic," Chin looked down at the body that Max was now prepping for transport to his office. "They dated a while."

Steve stared at Kono once again, she was shaking her head and he could see the frustration and exhaustion in her body language. Without taking his eyes off her he spoke again, "How serious?"

Chin stiffened a little. "It was…as serious as it could be between two teenagers. They were young, he was…"

There was something about Chin's tone that had Steve focusing back on him. "He was what?"

Again Chin sighed, his cousin's work and personal life – which she tried so hard to keep separate – were about to crash into each other; and he knew the wreck would be spectacular. It was a fine line he was walking here; Kono's relationship with Ano was something Steve needed to know about as the team lead. But there were parts of said relationship – while having no direct bearing on the case – could have an effect on Steve and Kono personally. Chin just knew that Kono wouldn't bring it up willingly.

But Chin also knew Steve McGarrett simply would not let it go once he got a whiff of something going on, and he had already gotten a hell of a whiff.

"Look, Steve, what I'll tell you is they dated for a while, they thought they were in love, it ended…badly. It was almost ten years ago now and I don't think it will affect her work on this case. Anything else is going to have to come from her man, not me." Steve's glare focused on Chin but the older man just shrugged.

"Chin, what the hell happened?"

Images from long ago flashed through his mind but he pushed them aside, focusing on his boss. "I can't say, man. Take it up with her."

That's when Kono returned from interviewing the surfer who had found the body and in short order they were heading back to the HQ, Steve and Kono riding together in his truck. Steve had insisted, saying they would come back for her car that night. Kono had wanted some time alone to let it all sink in, but clearly Steve had other ideas.

It was a while into the tense ride before Steve finally spoke, "Chin told me about your connection to the vic. You ok?"

"Yeah, good," she replied while staring out the window.

"You dated?"

"Yep."

"How long?"

"Almost two years."

Steve tightened his grip on the wheel, she was being as tight lipped as a suspect and it was frustrating the hell out of him, but he also knew (unfortunately from experience) that showing said frustration toward her would only cause Kono to clam up further.

"You wanna talk about it?"

"No," she replied, still toward the window. The words were quiet but her tone and body language were screaming at him to back off.

"Let me know if you do."

She visibly relaxed at that but still didn't turn toward him. "Ok."

He knew she wouldn't. Because Steve could tell there was more going on than just a dead former boyfriend. Something had shaken her, deeply, and she was struggling to control it. So he reached out with one hand and touched her upper arm.

And Kono flinched away from him. She actually _flinched _from his touch.

Steve tightened his hands even more on the steering wheel and wished this call never came in.

Tbc…

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><p>Don't forget to review on the way out…<p> 


	2. Rolling in the Deep

Note: Apologies for the long break between posts, sadly I think this one will be probably every 2 weeks or so. Work has been insane and usually that's where my best writing comes out. Go figure. Anyway, here you get a taste of what happened between Kono and Ano…there will be more info in later chapters.

And you guys are absolutely fantastic, really. The reviews for last chapter were wonderful, please continue, they really do inspire me to write a good fic for you to enjoy.

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><p>Chapter Two: Rolling in the Deep<p>

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><p>After returning to HQ, Kono had buried herself in Ano's current life, trying to find his local address and current employer. Steve sat in his office, trying to work while really glancing at Kono more than anything. She was focused on the smart table, typing and moving screens around furiously.<p>

There was obviously significantly more to her past with Ano, but clearly she was unwilling to share it and while Chin had assured him it was irrelevant to the case (and Steve trusted the older man's assessment), Steve wanted to know because that's who he was. That's what the Navy made him. He couldn't properly solve the problem (helping Kono get through whatever this was) without all the information.

This was not Steve strong suit. Being emotionally available to others. He knew he would do anything to protect her, he would kill for her if he had to (hell, he actually had killed for her, though long ago). But trying to gently pry information out of her? Not part of his skill set, the Navy wasn't real concerned with the emotional well-being of the person on the other end of an interrogation.

Steve sighed and rubbed his face gently. If he continued to think of it as an interrogation he would screw up before he started. Because Steve DID want to be there for her, he wanted her to trust him and confide in him whatever was sending her so off balance.

But he felt woefully unprepared for whatever was going on and that was not a feeling he was familiar or comfortable with.

Steve was so lost in thought that he missed her not only approach his office, but open the door. It was her voice that finally caught his attention. "Boss?"

"Yeah?" he asked and quickly focused on her. She looked tired and a little stressed.

"I've got something."

He stood and approached the door, calling her name before she could escape to the safety of the table, freezing her in place in his doorway.

"Kono…You ok?"

"Yeah…fine."

She was lying, she was far from fine but Steve knew she wouldn't admit it. She was pretending that finding an old flame dead on the beach this morning was no big deal. A flame with whom she'd apparently had a break up bad enough that no one would talk about it.

"Kono…come on…"

"Not now, Steve." Was her terse response and she walked out of the doorframe and to the table where Chin and Danny had already gathered.

Once he got close enough to hear she started filling in the group.

"Ano Kalani. Twenty-six, DMV address is a rental house about two miles from the beach. Current employer is a motorcycle shop in Honolulu."

Danny, who had been reading the screen, cut in. "Looks like several stints in rehab in between 2006 and 2009 for drug abuse, then mostly spotty employment until the bike shop in late 2010. Clean since."

At the mention of rehab, Kono had stiffened and waited for the inevitable, which came quickly, but from Danny instead of Steve, who had remained completely silent the entire time.

"Kono, did you know him in the rehab days? Could that have anything to do with it? Maybe he was back on the drugs?"

Tapping her fingers on the edge of the table she replied, "I knew him before he started rehab. According to Hei-"

"Hei? Who's that?" Danny interrupted.

This time Chin answered. "Big guy at the beach, mutual friend."

Kono continued, "According to Hei, Ano had been off the drugs a while, he was apparently getting his life back together."

"You believe him?" Steve asked.

Kono shrugged and looked back at the picture of Ano on the screen. "I don't see why he would lie to me. Hei mentioned that Ano was thinking about contacting me."

Chin snapped his head toward his cousin and let out an involuntary (and concerned), "What?"

Steve instantly caught Chin's tone and the urge to know what the hell was going on intensified. "Why?" he asked.

"I don't know. But Hei said Ano got really interested when he mentioned I was on the task force to him."

Danny, the only one without any personal reference point for the case, spoke next, "So your buddy Hei tells your ex that you are on an HPD task force and suddenly Ano wants to get in contact with you, right?" Kono nodded her agreement with his assessment and the Detective continued. "Is there any personal reason he would contact you?"

"None," she said swiftly and looked to Steve.

"Ok, so that leaves professional. Maybe he knew something? Had information on something he thought you might be interested in?"

"And he didn't just go straight to HPD, why?" Steve asked and crossed his arms.

Now Kono was following Danny's train of thought, "Maybe he was scared, didn't know what to do and figured talking to me would be…safe."

"Or he thought he could use you." Steve added tersely.

She shrugged her acceptance of that possibility. Kono didn't know what had happened to Ano the last almost decade, but somewhere deep inside her, in the part that had loved him for a while she knew that wasn't it. He was coming to her for help. So she voiced that.

"I don't think so. It sounded like he was getting it back together." She pointed to the screen. "Steady job which he didn't manage in between rehab before…"

"Ok…" Steve started and quickly divided up tasks, keeping Kono at arm's length as best he could. "Chin you and Kono hit the employer, Danny and I will check out his place."

The three nodded and Kono looked back up to the screen, "I'll call the last rehab center when we get back, make sure he was clean when he left."

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><p>"Are you going to tell him?"<p>

Until those words finally came out of Chin's mouth the car ride had been a quiet, tense affair between the cousins. Kono silently pleading for Chin to not open his mouth and Chin practically boring holes into her head as she drove his Traverse.

"Who?"

An annoyed sigh came from his side of the car, which Kono ignored. "Don't do that. You know who I'm talking about.

"Wasn't planning on it."

"Why not?"

"Because it's not relevant to the case."

"But it is to your relationship with him."

Kono gave him a sharp, irritated look. "How…how is my past with the victim relevant to my current relationship with Steve?"

"_Because _you are in a relationship, Kono. Which usually means you share things, the good and the bad."

"Like you did with Malia?" It was a low blow and she knew it, but Chin took the high road and completely ignored the jab.

"He deserves to know, Kono."

Anger flared through her. Until now Chin had stayed out of her relationship with Steve, and she wished he would continue to do so. "No, he doesn't, Chin."

"So you're just screwing Steve then, he doesn't mean anything else to you?"

"CHIN!" she shouted. "What the hell is the matter with you?"

"Tell me, Kono…is it just sex with Steve or does he mean something to you? Because if he does then you need to talk to him, I know it's hard, trust me. Especially considering what Ano did -"

"Stop right there Chin."

"See, you still can't talk about it; it's been _eight years_ Kono. Why?"

"Because I'm fucking over it, ok. I have been for a long time. You're the one who won't let it go…"

"Because you won't talk about it, you're not over it, Kono, you never were. You don't have to tell Danny or anyone else, but Steve has a right to know. He's worried as hell about you."

Tears pricked her eyes, but Kono quickly blinked them away, she knew that Chin was right and she knew Steve was worried, she could feel it radiating off him. And yet, she couldn't do it, she still couldn't say the words and it seemed best to leave it buried deep inside rather that dreg up old, painful memories. As it was, she had been struggling since that morning to keep a tight rein on it, not showing how much emotional pain she was actually in. Unfortunately she had the pleasure of working with the two people who knew her best.

"Let it go, Chin," she practically whispered. Then, all but begging him. "Please."

"I love you and I don't want to see this eat you up again."

"It won't…" Chin just gave her a look that said he didn't quite believe her. "_It won't." _She stated more firmly.

"Tell him, Kono. He'll listen and maybe you'll finally let go."

"I have."

They both knew she was lying.

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><p>The conversation with Ano's employer was fairly quick, though enlightening. He had worked for the shop nearly 18 months, model employee, picked up extra shifts when he could, mostly kept to himself. When Kono had asked the manager if there had been trouble the man hesitated.<p>

"Well, I guess a month or so ago some guy comes in looking for Ano. Rough looking dude…and that's saying something given my clientele. They got into a shouting match out in the parking lot. Couldn't hear em, but Ano was rattled after that."

"Did you see the other guy again?" Chin asked.

"Nope, not since."

"Could you describe him if you had to?"

"Might, it was a while back and my eyesight's not what it used to be, you know. But I've always had a thing for faces."

The pair nodded and Chin gave him a card while promising to set up a time for the other man to come in and do a sketch as best he could.

After they had all reconvened in the HQ, it was late into the day, nearing 6 pm and Kono was tired, bone tired. All she wanted to do was go home, take a shower and go to bed. Ok, maybe have a beer and catch a wave somewhere in there also.

Chin took the lead, explaining the altercation witnessed by the manager at work. There had been little at Ano's small rental, but they had found a piece of paper next to his laptop. On it was scrawled Kono's name, 5-0 and the main number to HPD.

"So he was going to contact you, but was hesitant." Danny mused.

"Why would he be hesitant?" Steve asked and looked at her, unsure how to ask the question without making it personal; thankfully Kono bailed him out and answered the unspoken.

"Look, it ended badly between us; I hadn't talked to or seen him since I left. So that would explain the reluctance. He probably didn't know how I would react…or if I would even help for that matter."

"And the rehab place?"

"They said this go around was different. Before he'd go through the motions without putting effort into his recovery, this time they said he was trying…really trying and when he left they were confident it was going to stick."

"Was he seeing a therapist outside rehab?" Danny asked.

"No, he wasn't."

"Max came back with COD," Steve said and pulled up the emailed report. "Drowning after being knocked unconscious with an object, obviously homicide. Fong is working on figuring out what that object could be."

The group seemed to think that over a while before Steve let out a sigh and scrubbed his face with his hands. "Ok, let's call it a night. The manager is scheduled tomorrow morning to do the sketch, right?" Chin nodded and Steve continued. "So we are stuck for now, that's the only lead we've got unless Charlie pulls something from the laptop that we didn't see."

The group went to their offices and started collecting their things, except Steve, he followed Kono to hers, lingering in the open door while she grabbed her purse and gun.

"Coming over?" he asked.

"Not tonight."

It wasn't that unusual for her to not come over. They had decided quickly that there was such a thing as too much togetherness and made an effort to spend some nights apart, though the frequency of those nights had been quickly dwindling. Of all nights though, he really expected her to come over so they could sit down and talk about whatever was going on with her. He was really hoping she would use the downtime the small break the case had afforded them to really talk to him. Instead she was closing herself off even more and Steve had a feeling the longer this went on, the less chance he had of getting her to open up.

"Kono…"

"Look, Steve. I just need some time to myself, ok?"

"I get that, I do. But I think we need to talk."

"About what?" She asked tiredly.

He took a step into her office. "You know what."

Instead of responding, she kissed him gently on the cheek as she walked out. "Goodnight, Steve."

* * *

><p>Letting herself into her house, Kono quickly dropped her bag in the foyer and, after consulting the time, moved to her bedroom, trading her cargo pants and t-shirt for a bikini and cover-up. If she hurried she could get a little surfing in. Right now she desperately needed what the water would give her, a few moments of peace and hopefully quiet the memories that had been pushing at the edge of her mind.<p>

There were more than a few good memories with Ano. The first that came to mind was the first time they met; it had been the beach while she had been training for Ian and Coral Prince. Both were sixteen and it had been what they thought was love at first sight. He had seen her the first time riding a monster wave that most of his friends wouldn't even have attempted. When she had finally come in for a rest Ano had approached her and he had been attractive and charming and it hadn't taken but thirty minutes and she was agreeing to meet him back at the beach the next day after her training session was over so they could hang out.

The spent the next eighteen months together constantly and she had tried to stay with him through the dark times, but eventually it became too much for her and she had been forced to leave him behind in favor of what was quickly becoming a career in surfing.

And then he'd lost his mind and she'd lost a lot more.

* * *

><p>After she left, Steve went back to his office and stared out the glass to the photo of Ano Kalani that was still displayed on the monitors above the smart table. Steve tapped his fingers a few moments on his desk before logging into his computer and digging through Ano's life again. Nothing unusual, same as before. Again he tapped his fingers, his mind whirring before going back to the computer, digging farther, pressing harder as the SEALs had taught him. Just as he was getting ready to call it quits an archived file caught his attention.<p>

Kalani – 50981

Quickly he double clicked and the main page of the file opened.

In red print were the words "Expunged". He had stumbled upon a juvenile record that had been permanently removed from Ano's official record.

* * *

><p>Pulling her cover up off, she tossed it to the sand next to her towel and water bottle and picked up the board. The smell of the salt had a calming effect and for the first time since showing up at that crime scene she felt at least a little in control. Though she knew that was just an illusion, she was far from in control, Ano was still dead – his killer still out there, and Steve…Steve was trying so hard to help her and she was shutting him down at every opportunity. While there were memories of Ano that were warm, comforting and loving there were also dark, terrifying and gut wrenching ones as well. It was the latter that she couldn't bring herself to talk about, afraid it would make it real again. It had been a struggle back then to move on and accept what had happened, it was a struggle now to keep the memories at bay, Kono was terrified that thinking (much less speaking) about it would make it real again.<p>

She would have done anything, absolutely anything, to keep that from happening.

Even if it meant alienating the one person she cared about more than anyone.

* * *

><p>He debated leaving it be, whatever was in Ano's expunged juvenile record was not meant to be looked at by law enforcement again. It meant that he had met all the requirements the courts had set out for him; he <em>had <em>cleaned up his life as far as HPD was concerned. But the fact the man was down in the morgue instead of surfing that morning meant something had gone terribly wrong in his renewed life, and Steve needed to know what that was to help him now. For all he knew someone from Ano's past had come back, it wasn't likely after so much time but Steve was not one to leave a stone unturned. And he couldn't deny the urge to know if something in this file would shed light on Kono's state.

Of course, he could have asked her, the dates corresponded to what probably would have been the end of the relationship, but Steve couldn't bring himself to close the file now. He was too far in. The answers were at his fingertips, and Steve desperately sought those answers even as somewhere in the back of his head there was a niggling that this was a very bad idea as far as Kono was concerned.

Quickly he scanned the incident, the charges had been severe: aggravated assault, battery and assault with intent to do great bodily harm.

Even before he scrolled to the next page, Steve knew, he just knew what he would find. And yet, he couldn't stop himself, even though he should have. He should have stopped right there and let it go. But the part of him that demanded to know, that demanded to have all the information at his disposal had him moving farther into the file.

The victim's name…so familiar and yet so foreign seeing it on the screen in this context.

* * *

><p>Stepping out of the water as the sun slipped under the horizon, Kono stood a moment enjoying the peace and nearly full moon. And for the first time that day she felt like maybe she would escape this case with her sanity intact.<p>

She would solve this case and put Ano's killer in jail because that's what she did and it was one final thing she could do for him.

* * *

><p>One more click had Steve's blood literally boiling. Rubbing his hands over his face Steve hoped when he opened his eyes again the photos would be gone. Or replaced by someone else's face. He couldn't believe this was what she had been hiding. <em>This <em>was her past with Ano, it didn't jive with the Kono he knew now…the fiercely independent, kick ass, sometimes scary woman he knew. She kept up with him, for God's sake, didn't let him get away with anything.

Staring back at him from his computer screen was a nearly eight year old police photo of Kono's face, beaten and bloody.

It was obvious that it had been taken at the hospital; the stark white hospital pillow and typical wool blanket were clear in the photos. The next in the file wasn't much better, it was a side view, her eye swollen shut, and stitches ran across her temple with a nasty cut on her lip. Most of her face was mottled with black and blue bruises; there were several more small cuts scattered across her face and neck.

Ano hadn't just abused her face; the ER report listed a grade two concussion, several broken ribs and a sprained wrist, with extensive bruising across her torso, arms and legs. Almost no part of her had been left untouched. Scanning the report he was relieved to note that the rape test had come back negative. The attack had been especially vicious, spread over several hours according to the report, fueled by PCP laced heroin.

Through blurry vision Steve was able to make out that Kono didn't press charges, she insisted on rehab instead (typical Kono) which he had agreed to. There had been specific conditions attached to Ano's probation, which he'd obviously met.

Steve flipped through a couple more photos that showed more bruises, more cuts over her arms and legs. The bruises on her upper arms were distinctly finger shaped and for the first time in his life Steve thought he could be sick. This was not any victim, it was Kono. His Kono. The woman who shared his bed and was quickly stealing his heart. And even though the man who had done this was already dead, Steve felt an irrational urge to kill him, to repay to him what he had done to her.

Making up his mind he logged out of the HPD system, grabbed his cell, keys and weapon and walked out the door.

* * *

><p>His truck in her driveway was not hard to miss and she sighed, preparing to humor him for a little bit before asking him to leave her be for the night. She knew he wanted to help, but right now she didn't want help, she wanted silence.<p>

Leaning her bike against the bottom of the stairs she looked up to find him staring at her with this expression that was a mix of fury, concern and confusion. Her gut clenched in fear and panic.

He knew.

Tbc…


	3. I'll Follow You

Hello, readers. Thank you again from the bottom of my heart for the reviews for this, I hope this chapter lives up to expectations. I suspect this story will run about 5 or 6 chapters, depending on how it goes. This one is pretty wordy, not a lot of action but I hope you enjoy it all the same. I took probably 4 days just on editing alone and I cant edit another word without my brain quitting on me. Heh. As always, alerts are great, but reviews are fantastic.

And, I must tell you guys, I got hopelessly distracted by the first two books of the "Fifty Shades" trilogy. Which are...wow. Just...phew, I needed to fan myself.

Also, you may (or may not) have noticed that the chapter names are song titles, the first was Colors by Crossfade, second was Rolling in the Deep by Adele and this one is off the new Shinedown album, Amaryllis.

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><p>Chapter 3: I'll Follow You<p>

* * *

><p>With trembling hands she unlocked the front door and walked in, placing her board in its usual spot in the entry. The scene felt very familiar to one eight months ago when he had shown up on her doorstep, angry at her for hanging with Delano.<p>

She thought she was going to be sick.

For several tense moments there was silence between them, both still standing in her living room, staring at each other. Finally the tension became too much for both of them and they spoke simultaneously.

"Kono…"

"How?" Her voice was tense, irritated. The more she had thought about it, she couldn't for the life of her figure out how he had found out in the hour and a half they had been apart. Surely Chin hadn't betrayed her…

"How?" he repeated back, not quite understanding.

"Did you find out? Was it Chin?"

Steve shook his head quickly. "No…NO. I was doing more digging and found the juvie record."

Anger flashed through her brown eyes. "That was a SEALED record Steve. Means you aren't supposed to read it."

"It's an expunged record, Kono. It was archived. I opened it."

"You shouldn't have. You should have left it alone like I asked."

This was not how he expected it to go and suddenly felt defensive about his actions – even if he wasn't entirely sure about them at the time. "I couldn't and you know that. Who's to say someone from his drug days didn't come back…needed a favor."

"It was eight years ago Steve, I highly doubt it. Besides, he's been out of that life the last two years, remember?" She took a step toward him, one finger pointing (accusing, really) in his direction. "You just couldn't leave it the hell alone and you went digging despite the fact I told you I didn't want to talk about it. You couldn't respect my wishes."

His eyes widened. "I did Kono..."

Hers narrowed dangerously. "No, clearly you didn't. Or you would have closed that fucking file before you read it." Her entire body was shaking. She wasn't sure if it was from anger or anxiety, but it was all she could do to keep from falling to pieces. Then, quietly, "I'm not that girl anymore; I haven't been for a long time."

"Do you trust me?"

"I…" she sputtered out. The words stung because she did, more than anyone, but this…this was her own personal hell and she liked to keep it where it was, nice and buried. Of course he had to go and uncover it.

He took a step toward her but she stepped back, trying to keep distance between them. "Do you?"

"Yes."

His voice softened to a tone he usually reserved for victims and she hated it. She didn't like thinking of herself as a victim. Which was part of the reason she was so angry, because she knew, just _knew_, he would start treating her different, walking on eggshells around her, careful not to upset the girl who had been traumatized. God, she hated this.

"Then talk to me. That report gave me the ending; I want to hear the whole story."

Terror, absolute terror, settled on her face and Steve nearly recoiled; it never failed to astound him how little a police report could get across. How the victim felt, how terrified they were, the psychological ramifications never seemed to be accurately captured (if at all).

"Kono…" he said in that victim tone again and started to move toward her, hand outstretched, but when panic crossed her face he froze in place.

She wasn't a damn victim, she wasn't then and she certainly wasn't now. Anger bubbled up in her chest at him, anger for looking in the file and anger for using that fucking tone with her. So she lashed out the only way she could think of – by blaming him for opening the file in the first place. If he hadn't they wouldn't be here. "Don't…I can't believe you did this."

He dropped his hand. "I looked in that file because I had to, you know that. Assume nothing."

"And you ignored what I wanted."

"That wasn't my intent…" Steve had a feeling she was slipping away from him. That their relationship was now on the line because of this, and he almost couldn't believe it.

She was shaking again, so Kono crossed her arms tightly across her abdomen and allowed the anger to fuel her words. "It doesn't matter, Steve. You dug into _my _life because you had to fucking know, you couldn't just leave it be. You had to be…you. And push and push without thinking about how your actions affect other people. And now you know. Are you happy Steve? I'm sure the photos were still in the file. Was that what you really wanted to see? A broken little girl who trusted the wrong person? Who ignored Chin's warnings to get out because she thought she was in love? Who thought she could fix him, make it right? Is that what you wanted to see?" She was practically shouting at the end and Steve was caught off guard, unsure what to do or say. "Was it worth it, Steve? Was losing my trust worth a look?"

"No, it wasn't." Frustration was clear in his tone. "But I had to look in that file, Kono, you _know _that, it's my job, it's _our _job to cover all the angles. And no, I didn't _want _to see that. You really think I wanted to see pictures of you like that? He beat the shit out of you, Kono…he…" Steve trailed off, even he couldn't say the words that truly described what had happened (and he had merely read the reports) now he understood why she was so reticent to talk about it. The horror she had been put through was something he couldn't comprehend. How someone could do that to another person, someone they claimed to love always shocked him.

"I fucking know, Steve. I was there."

Silence fell over them again. Her emotions were churning and right now she was furious with him, felt absolutely betrayed and even embarrassed that he knew what had happened. What she had allowed to happen.

"I can't do this. I can't be with someone who would go behind my back."

Steve was stunned, it really wasn't his intent to go digging for information on her past, but unfortunately Ano and Kono's were eternally linked and now, because of that, she was walking away from him. Because he had opened a file and done his damn job, and for the first time since starting 5-0, he hated it.

"Kono, I didn't…"

Furiously she wiped tears off her face with a still shaking hand. "But you did. We're done Steve."

Dread ran through him as the words settled in. "Don't do this, Kono."

"Please leave."

"Kono…

"Please." It was practically begging and it broke Steve's heart to hear her like that and he knew that the best course of action would be to respect her wishes.

Instead of heading toward the door though he stepped toward her and kissed her firmly on the temple, pushing some stray hairs off her face. "I will always be here for you. Na manawa apua. This isn't the end, Kono, I don't give up that easy, you know that. "

She closed her eyes tight as fingers pulled gently through her hair. Kono didn't want to do this, but she also couldn't handle the fact that he knew and was now treating her like a victim. He was her boss and her…what? Lover, boyfriend, partner? They really had never defined what they were together. Either way, she was terrified this would change how he viewed her.

Too soon he pulled away and walked out the front door. When she heard his truck pull out of her driveway, Kono sunk into the couch and cried.

* * *

><p><em>Pain. Everywhere. <em>

_That's all she was aware of. That and the darkness, it was so dark. _

_Drawing in a deep breath there was more pain, stabbing really, in her side._

_The door opened again and Kono clenched her entire body in fear, trying to push herself back into the corner of the room. It didn't help as he grabbed her upper arm violently, pulling her shakily up to her feet. _

_She couldn't take much more._

_And then it started again. She wanted to die._

* * *

><p>Kono startled awake on her couch, a scream caught in her throat. Sitting up, she rubbed her hands over her face before standing somewhat unsteadily and padding across the wood floors into the bedroom. She elected to forgo a shower and changed into shorts and a tank top before slipping into bed. But after the earlier nightmare sleep would not come.<p>

Instead she found herself staring at the ceiling, wondering how so much could go so wrong in just 24 hours. The night before she and Steve had gone out to one of the smaller bars on the island to have a couple beers and hang out together. They had joked and laughed and held hands – she could still feel his thumb rubbing over her knuckles and Kono was sure she had found the perfect man for her. Finally. After years of picking the wrong men because Ano had damaged her to the point of not trusting her judgment around them. For years she was constantly questioning motives of those she dated and it didn't take long before the guy would give up. Going through the academy had woken the dormant strong woman she knew she had been before and she was proud of the person she had become, on a task force straight out of the academy was an accomplishment. Having some time to herself had certainly helped, she had avoided any kind of relationship for the eighteen months it took to train and graduate, then she had joined 5-0 and there simply wasn't time. Until Steve.

A part of her could rationalize his opening of Pandora's Box, it wasn't intentional and his intent came from a good place. But he knew, he freaking knew that her past was Ano was off limits.

And that's the part she couldn't get over; that and the fear that he would see her now as she was in those pictures, broken down and scared because she had let it happen.

The pictures and the police report, however, were only words and images on paper.

The reality had been so much worse.

* * *

><p>Flinging his arm off his face, Steve looked at the clock for what seemed like the hundredth time that night. And groaned.<p>

A mere hour after the last time he had looked.

She had left him; she had thrown him out of her house and her life.

There was a sharp pain in his chest; she was unlike any other woman he had been with. Even Catherine. He and Cath had been almost too alike, their relationship loving but often tense and forced to conform to their hectic schedules. Kono was his opposite; she was...fun and light but was also deadly serious when it came to her job. She was…incredible, perfect really. He was determined to get her back; there was no way Steve McGarrett was giving up that easy. He just needed to figure out the best way to gain her trust again.

Reflecting on his actions the evening before, Steve was convinced he had done the right thing in reviewing that file; maybe he had gone wrong in confronting her about it. He could have simply read the information and not mentioned it unless something came up during the investigation. Though it could have ended worse had she found out he had known and kept it to himself.

It felt like he couldn't win either way, once he'd opened the file his fate was sealed.

But Steve wasn't one for keeping things like this to himself.

_How'd that work out for ya, Steve? _His subconscious screamed at him and he let out another frustrated groan.

Shifting in bed, he sighed and tried to quiet his churning thoughts (and gut), he was terrified, honestly terrified, that this would be the end of their relationship.

_No. There was no way he was allowing that to happen_.

Eventually he drifted back into a light sleep.

Waking again, Steve groaned and acknowledged that at 5 am, he might as well just get up and be done with it. So slowly he moved through his usual morning routine: swim, shower, breakfast. Though it felt a lot emptier without Kono in his bed grumbling good naturedly about being woken by his noise. Sometimes he was able to get her out of bed to swim with him, sometimes he would get back into bed with her.

Consulting the clock again (he was really starting to hate the damn clock), he decided it wasn't obscenely early for a work day and picked up his gun, wallet, cell and keys, heading out the door.

* * *

><p>It was ten to seven when he was standing on the front porch, suddenly unsure wondering if maybe it was a little <em>too<em> early for an unannounced visit. Blowing out a tight breath he knocked on the door and stepped back, carefully holding the drink carrier in his hand. At least he hadn't come empty handed.

It wasn't long before the door opened to a smiling Malia, dressed in mint green scrubs, her hair pulled back. "Steve," she said brightly and stepped aside, allowing him into the house.

Looking guilty he indicated the coffee. "It's not too early is it? I brought coffee…"

"It's not that early." She smiled and motioned for him to follow her into the kitchen and sit at a small, comfortable table.

Carefully Steve pulled the coffee out of the carrier and handed her one, giving her a moment to drink some before speaking. "Chin around?"

"Showering," she said and regarded him carefully. "I heard about Ano. That's terrible. How's Kono handing it?"

Steve just looked at her earnest, concerned expression before spitting out, "I fucked up." Momentarily he grimaced at the phrase but Malia's expression didn't change. Instead she tilted her head, encouraging him. "I read Ano's juvie record."

Malia's eyes widened a bit in surprise and she issued a soft, "Oh…"

"I tried to talk to her about it and she got angry, really angry, she said we were done and tossed me out of her house. I don't…" he sighed and ran fingers through his hair. "I need to fix this, but I don't know how."

Malia looked out the window they were seated next to a moment before speaking. "Kono…she never properly dealt with what happened to her. He went to rehab and counseling and she insisted she was fine and never spoke of it again." She tapped her fingers against the cardboard drink container. "We all knew she was far from fine…she was seventeen for the love of God. It would have been a lot to handle for an adult, much less a teenager. But Kono's always been wiser than her years and she's incredibly stubborn, so eventually we stopped asking. I tried a couple times after that to get her to talk to me, but I was shut down every time."

Steve nodded, sounded like the Kono he knew, her actions with Delano and Fryer told him that she would take the weight of the world on herself to spare those around her.

Malia stared at him a moment before continuing. "It was six months after that she blew her knee out doing a move she'd done a thousand times before."

"You think it had something to do with it?"

"I do, Chin doesn't. I think he won't admit that Kono was still struggling. It was easier for him to believe everything was back to normal."

Steve considered what Malia had said, her accident was another touchy subject with Kono she rarely discussed it, choosing to deflect by pointing out if her surfing career had continued as it should have she wouldn't have made her way to the team. She never would have met him. Steve's gut clenched that the events that brought her to him were so disturbing.

A soft voice brought him back to the present. "She needs space, Steve. To sort it out in her head, you just need to make sure you're there when she's ready. She needs you, despite what she says." Then Malia winked at him. "I have a feeling you're not the kind of guy to let it go anyway."

Steve laughed at that. "I've been accused of extreme tenacity many times before."

She smiled at him. "I believe it."

A photo on the side of the fridge caught Steve's attention and he stood, walking over and squinting at it. It was a small girl, maybe 8 or 9, with familiar dark hair and eyes. "Is that?"

Malia smiled widely. "Yep, first day with her first board. Chin got it for her. She would walk on water for her cousin, and I think he would part the seas for her. From what I hear, she was the apple of her seventeen-year-old cousin's eye from the day she was born. He took her everywhere."

That startled him slightly; he always forgot that Kono was a still-young twenty six, a decade younger than him. She had lived (and lived through) so much in her life.

Steve realized that Malia had grown quiet and he turned toward her, clearly she was lost in some memory. She looked up at him. "Do you know about her parents?"

Steve shook his head; they really still knew so little about each other. "No, I know they died."

"In a car accident when she was fifteen, not long after she signed her Coral Prince contract. It devastated her. But she came to live with Chin and I and Ian was so good to her, he really stepped in and was a guiding force for her talent and became a father figure along with Chin. Surfing was something to take her mind off their deaths."

Vibrating from the kitchen counter startled Steve and instantly Malia was on her feet, picking up her iPhone, reading the display.

"Excuse me, Steve. One of my patients showed up in the ER this morning, I've got to head in. Chin should be down soon."

He nodded and said, "Thanks Malia."

Impulsively she stepped over to Steve and kissed him gently on the cheek. "Hang in there, Steve."

Again he nodded and she headed to the front door, stopping when Chin appeared at the bottom of the stairs and let out a loud, "Morning, baby."

Suddenly there was hushed talking and Steve tried looking anywhere but at the pair as they chatted quickly and quietly.

Then Chin appeared in the kitchen, significantly more subdued then when he came down the stairs. Steve offered him the coffee and the other man took it then eyed him carefully.

"So, you read the file," he finally stated after a couple uncomfortable moments.

"Yeah, I did."

"And she's pissed."

"Yeah, she is."

Chin sighed. "How pissed?"

"Well, she told me we were done and threw me out of her house."

Chin let out a low whistle. "Yeah, that's pissed."

"I had to do it Chin, I saw the file and I had to read it, you know that." Steve was desperate for Chin to understand.

The older man nodded sagely. "I know that but right now she doesn't. Look…we did her a disservice all those years ago by leaving her be. Malia thinks I don't realize it, but I do. I realize I failed her. It was just so hard…she wouldn't talk and it was easier to just…pretend. I don't want it to happen again."

"I won't let it." Steve said firmly.

A ghost of a smile crossed Chin's face. "I know you won't."

He was counting on it.

Tbc…

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><p><em>I'll follow you down, through the eye of the storm<em>  
><em>Don't worry I'll keep you warm.<em>  
><em>I'll follow you down, while we're passing through space<em>  
><em>I don't care if we fall from grace<em>  
><em>I'll follow you down to wherever forever lies<em>  
><em>Without a doubt am on your side<em>  
><em>There's nowhere else that I would rather be<em>  
><em>Am not about to comprise, give you up to say goodbye<em>  
><em>I'll guide you through the deep I'll keep you close to me<em>

I'll Follow You, Shinedown


	4. Lost In You

Thank you again to all those who have reviewed. It is always appreciated.

Sometimes when writing a story there comes a chapter that nearly has you throwing the computer (and the story) right out the freaking window. This is that chapter for me. So please review and let me know that it was worth the teeth gnashing.

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><p>Chapter 4: Lost in You, Three Days Grace<p>

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><p>Kalani – 50981<p>

It had been staring at her for the last thirty minutes from the computer monitor. Tapping her finger gently on the mouse without actually pushing it, Kono continued to debate if opening the file would be worth it. She had never actually read the report (though she certainly knew what was in it) or seen the photos they had taken. But she was also curious what exactly Steve had seen when he clicked.

Looking at the clock, which read 7 am, she figured she had another thirty minutes or so before the rest of the team started rolling into HQ. She had barely slept the night before and had eventually given up, coming into work at the usually obscene time of six fifteen.

There was also some kind of security for her in being in the office before him. She wasn't sure how to behave around him now, wasn't sure if it would be awkward between them. Even though it had been her choice to break up with him, there was a part of her that regretted it deeply. She cared about him, a hell of a lot. More than she had cared for anyone in a long time, probably since Ano.

Tapping her finger a couple more times, Kono finally made the decision and clicked on the file.

It was harder than she expected to read the report, the words on the screen may have described what had happened to her (in far greater detail then she could have fathomed) but they were 2D, while her memories were very 3D. As the words went by she could still feel Ano and the pain, hear his voice as he spoke nonsense to her, seen the insanity that had gripped him that evening.

Absently she started chewing on her fingernails, the anxiety gripping her. Probably she should have just closed the file before she got to the end and the pictures, but she couldn't stop herself and flipped to the first one.

Kono immediately closed her eyes, covering them with her hands.

It was a close up of the side of her face that had received the brunt of the violence. Her jaw and cheek were covered in purple bruises, cuts from a ring Ano had worn were scattered across her skin and in some spots she could make out the imprint of it. But it was her swollen eye that had her stomach rolling with nausea. After the attack she literally couldn't open it, the swelling had been that severe, he had been one or two more blows away from fracturing her orbital bone. It had taken nearly a full week before the swelling was gone.

Deciding enough was enough – she was going to make herself crazy - she closed the file without going further.

Movement out of the corner of her eye had Kono turning in time to see Steve and Chin walking in together.

_Great, certainly they've talked._

Steve slowed just enough to catch her eye and give her a small, unsure smile before striding into his office.

This was going to kill her, she missed him already. She had missed waking up in his bed this morning, she missed him trying to convince her to go swimming with him, and she missed his touch which was always so unguarded and soft in the mornings. That's when she always got a glimpse into the part of Steve that was a little romantic and fun, before the day started and he turned into the mostly serious SEAL they all knew.

Then she remembered what he had done and while her anger had dissipated significantly, it was still enough to justify her breaking up with him. She couldn't deal with the fact that she had seen her that way and Kono was almost as embarrassed as she was angry.

When her door opened Kono chastised herself that she had gotten so lost in thought she hadn't noticed Chin approach.

"Boss man wants a meeting."

She just nodded and stood.

"Kono, you good?"

She mustered a smile. "Yep, good."

He didn't believe her for a second, but let it go. As they had walked into the building he had Steve had agreed that for now, until the case was cleared, it would be better to give her a little space while watching carefully for signs that it was taking a toll on her.

Given the bags under her eyes and her sallow complexion, Chin wasn't convinced it hadn't already - especially since she had tossed Steve out the night before. Chin had hoped that she would open up to their boss (and her significant other, so to speak) and allow him to take some of the emotional burden off herself, but that hope had been dashed by Steve's appearance in his kitchen that morning.

Silently she followed Chin out to the smart table where Steve and Danny were already standing. She acknowledged both men with a curt nod as she stood next to Chin.

Danny looked at Steve then Kono before going back to Steve with an expression of "what is going on". Usually the two were friendly in the morning as if they hadn't already seen each other (an unnecessary action in Danny's opinion). A frown crossed the blonde's face as he worked out what had happened between them - at least to the point that there was tension between them, a lot of it. Thankfully this was one thing the verbose detective was able to keep quiet about.

"So, what time is the employer coming in for the sketch?" Steve started.

"Nine," Chin replied quickly.

"Ok, so we have no leads and no suspect. Ideas?" Steve threw out.

Kono stared at the screen a few more moments before speaking. "Well, since Ano had no living family on the island, I'd like to talk to Hei again, see if there was anyone else Ano had connected with recently." That and she'd had a feeling Ano was holding back.

Steve nodded. "Chin, go with?"

"I'd rather go alone."

Steve's immediate thought was _no. _He wasn't oblivious to how tired and worn down she was already, Steve had picked up on the slightly hunched posture as she'd approached the table, and in the bright light of the room the circles under her eyes were more pronounced. But if she thought she could get more out of him alone, so be it. Steve was confident she could handle it on her own.

"Fine," he agreed and Chin's eyes darted to his instantly; Steve waved him off with a look.

After several more minutes of discussing the team broke apart, Kono quickly disappearing out the door without a word to the rest of the concerned group.

Chin quickly excused himself to meet the employer for the sketch, leaving Danny and Steve staring at each other over the smart board.

"So," Danny drew out. "What's going on with you and Kono?"

"Nothing you need to worry about Danno."

"Oh, no you don't Steven. I've felt less tension during a standoff." Danny softened his tone and sighed. "Look man…she's good for you. Really good for you. Kono is probably the only woman on this God forsaken island, probably the whole damn planet, who will put up with your shit."

Steve sighed. "And your point?"

"My point…my point my friend is whatever the hell you did, you need to…undo it!"

Deflating some, Steve stared at his partner a moment before quickly explaining Kono's relationship with Ano and how he had come upon the information. Steve glossed over the details of Kono's case for Danny, just giving him enough to be in the know without exposing more than Kono would have liked.

"That…is one hell of a fuck up."

"Thanks, I sorta figured that one out on my own." Steve looked at him desperately. "What do I do?"

"Did you apologize?"

"Wha-"

"Oh dear God, Steven. Start there. Apologize and then do whatever you did to get that lovely woman to start dating you in the first place."

Steve considered that a moment. "Start over."

Danny shrugged. "Sure." Then he lowered his voice. "Just make sure she knows you are here if she needs you."

"I think she does."

"Make sure. And apologize, please…"

"I will…thanks Danno."

"You're welcome." The detective nodded and walked back into his office, leaving Steve staring at Ano's photo again.

"Despite my anger at you, I'm going to find your killer and give Kono some peace. Which was more than you did." He muttered to the screen and stalked back into his own office to make some calls.

* * *

><p>Kono watched from afar as Hie got into his beat up pickup and drove away from the small house in a rundown neighborhood. There was no way she would be able to get him to open up at home. This was a rough neighborhood, one of the worst, and distrust of cops was instinctive with the residents. If she had shown up on his porch, there was no way he would have talked and everyone would have assumed he was snitching to the cops. Which would have brought him trouble, the kind she didn't want to be responsible for.<p>

So she followed him as he went north and once they were a safe distance from the hood she pulled up next to him, indicating for him to follow her. Eventually Kono pulled into a warehouse district, parking behind an abandoned building near the water.

Hie's truck sputtered and clanked as he turned it off and she approached, game face in place. She wasn't Kono the friend anymore; she was in full 5-0 mode, determined to close the case.

"Hie…" she started as she leaned against the truck while he got out.

"Kono. Thanks for not coming into the hood."

She nodded. "No problem, brah. I need you to tell me whatever it was you wouldn't at the beach yesterday." Straight to the point.

The big man shook his head, a little _too _forcefully. "Nothing else to tell, Ki."

"Don't…don't call me that Hie. It's either officer or Kono."

His eyes darkened. "Oh, so it's like that?"

"Yeah, it is, Hie. We need to find whoever killed Ano and I'm not playin."

_I want this fucking case done_ was what she was thinking but didn't voice it.

He reached up and rubbed the back of his neck, and Kono watched the uncertainty cross his face.

"C'mon man," she sighed.

"Look, I think Ano was getting into something he couldn't get out of. He mentioned making some extra cash so he could start his own shop. A couple weeks later dude was all tense and was muttering about people lyin to him. He'd been duped by someone. Bad."

"Did you see anyone suspicious or even just new in his life?"

The big man shuffled his feet and looked down. "Yeah, once. I popped in his place to see if he wanted to hit up a new club and there was a dude there. Big, kinda scary looking. He left as soon as I showed up and Ano was freaked out…like really freaked, Kono. That's when I mentioned you were 5-0 and maybe he should call you if he was in trouble, he was considering it."

It was then her phone started buzzing in her pocket, but Kono ignored it.

"Was he in trouble?"

"Yeah, I think he was."

"Why didn't you tell me this at the beach, Hie?"

"Too many eyes, Ki-Kono."

She nodded her understanding.

"Anything else?"

"He really was off the stuff, Kono. I swear."

"Ok, look, if you hear anything just text me and I'll meet you wherever, ok?"

"Aiight," Hie said and opened the truck door.

As he started the truck – which made more noise then when he shut it off – Kono pulled her phone out of her pocket and noticed an email from Chin. It was the sketch of the man who had been arguing with Ano.

Looking up she shouted at Hie to wait and ran over to the vehicle, holding out her phone. "Was this the guy you saw at his place?"

Hie stared at the sketch hard then nodded. "That's him."

Again she nodded and Hie pulled out of the parking lot, squealing tires onto Kapolani.

Climbing back into her Cruze, Kono took a moment for herself, pulling in a deep breath and focusing her thoughts. Ano had gotten himself into something for sure; Kono just wasn't sure what it was, but she was sure it was why he was in Max's morgue.

* * *

><p>Walking back into HQ, she noticed the other members of the team standing over the smart table. They were completely silent.<p>

As she approached Steve was the first to acknowledge her and gave her a tight look.

_What happened? _She wondered and crossed the final ten feet to the table.

"What's going on, guys?"

"We ID'd the guy in the sketch."

Her eyebrows rose. "Who is he?"

The men at the table all looked to Steve to handle this one and he pointed at the screen. "Damien Ellison." Then he paused, almost appraising her before continuing. "Known enforcer for a small time drug cartel, the Maki. Address on his license is an empty lot."

"No," she whispered and backed away before staring at Steve. "Hie just said Ano had been duped. He was looking for extra cash, found something, but had gotten in too deep. That's when Hie gave him my info."

Chin approached her slowly, which nearly set her off. She wasn't some fragile thing about to break into pieces. "Kono…he was in with a drug cartel."

"We don't know that." She pointed at the screen which now showed Ellison's driver's license. "We know Ellison was seen with him twice and we know Ano thought he had been duped. There is no proof that he did anything illegal. There was nothing at his place, right?" The question was directed to Steve and the leader quickly shook his head. "So maybe he takes a couple jobs for them, not realizing what he is getting into and it quickly spirals out of control."

The board dinged with a message and Steve pulled up a report from Fong. Quickly he scanned it. "Ok, so the tests came back on the substance found in Ano's head wound. He was hit with something rectangle or square shaped, approximately one inch. Fong says if we find the weapon he can compare to the wound and confirm it."

"That's…somewhat helpful." Danny stated.

Steve consulted the clock then the smartboard. "Ok, let's gather what data we can about the new drug dealers on the block and tomorrow we'll go bust down some doors looking for Ellison."

The team dispersed except Kono - who liked to do her work at the smart board. Steve lingered until they had the space to themselves.

She, of course, completely ignored his presence.

He decided that just diving in was his best option, so he did. "Kono…I'm sorry."

It had the desired effect, her eyes immediately snapped to his and he could sense her gauging his sincerity. Clearly satisfied with whatever she found, Kono smiled just slightly and Steve released the breath he hadn't realized he had been holding.

"Thank you."

"I…did the wrong thing even if my intentions were good."

"I know."

There was something in her face that told him the conversation was over so he nodded and walked back into his office feeling lighter than he had in a while.

* * *

><p>After a couple hours of standing, pacing and tapping on the smart board, Kono had finally learned all she could about the Maki. From what HPD had gathered they started on the island approximately three years ago with a particularly nasty form of heroin. Highly addictive but had the nasty habit of killing users. HPD had been picking up bodies all over the island but had been having a hard time finding anything on the higher ups in the organization, when low level dealers where caught they wouldn't rat out those above them. And bodies couldn't talk.<p>

Their man, Damien Ellison, had been accused of assault several times – mostly on suspected users - but each time the witnesses would refuse to testify out of fear, preventing any kind of prosecution.

There had been rumors going around that the Maki were attempting to branch out to the other islands and using couriers to do so. Kono wondered if this was what Ano had stepped into. Maybe he had taken a job thinking it was regular courier work only to find out it was more than it appeared. The Maki were not as well-known as the Yazuka, so Ano could have taken a job not realizing who it was with.

She found several different addresses that Ellison had used in addition to the fake one on his driver's license. They would have to hit all of them.

Suddenly determined, Kono went back over the material again, just to confirm they had everything.

Steve watched for several minutes though the windows of his office as she paced slowly, then picked up speed while checking the monitors every couple of laps.

She had at least accepted his apology, that was a start, but he knew he needed something else. Just an apology wasn't nearly enough.

Smirking, he turned back to his computer.

Unlocking the door to her house and stepping in, Kono was immediately assaulted by the smell of flowers.

_No, he didn't. _

Scanning the space her eyes landed on a large vase placed carefully on her breakfast bar.

_Yes, he did._

She didn't know how he got the flowers in the first place, pink lilies were not exactly easy to find and she really didn't know how he got them into the house with so little time on his hands. Either way, she loved them. They were all almost in full bloom and the scent permeated through her entire house.

Fighting a smile she picked up her phone and shot off a quick text to Steve.

_Thank you._

The response was almost instantaneous. _Welcome. Call me if you need me. Anytime. Na manawa apua_

Damn him.

It hadn't even been a day and already her resolve that they were no longer together was cracking just a little (ok a lot) under the weight of a heartfelt apology and flowers. Admittedly even as she had said the words the night before, Kono was sure they weren't going to last, she cared far too much about him to toss him out over good intentions with poor execution. But she was still raw and didn't want to discuss the situation with him so she left it at his last text. At some point they would talk about it, because Steve wouldn't let her get away with not. It was one of his most endearing, and annoying, qualities. She just needed to get through this case.

Sighing she took another long look at the flowers and headed off to bed. She needed at least one good night sleep.

* * *

><p><em>Dark…it was so dark. For a moment she couldn't remember where she was. <em>

_Ano's. She had come when he had called and begged her to come over. Her head hurt, her back hurt and she was scared to death. _

_Because when he opened the door the boy in front of her was not _her _Ano…it was someone else. Someone trapped in a world created by drugs. A world she wanted no part of. _

_Standing slowly, she moved to the door that was outlined by the light shining from the other room. Carefully she tried the handle but it didn't move. Locked._

_Her cell!_

_Desperately she patted down the pockets of her shorts. _

_It was gone._

_Kono resisted the urge to punch something, which would only alert him that she was up. Instead she used the dim light to see what was around her that she could use as a weapon. The space was small, only holding the hot water tank and air circulator for the house. There were no tools or anything else she could use. There was a light switch but she was unwilling to turn it on._

_Fuck me._

_That's when the door flung open and Ano stepped in, grabbing her by her hair, yanking it back violently. She let out a small yelp and struggled. But he was bigger than her and the space was too small to really get any leverage._

"_It's your fault…" he hissed, his lips close to her ear. _

"_My fault?" she started but was cut off by a backhand across her mouth._

"_Shut up…shut up! Stupid bitch." Then he leaned into her neck, taking a deep breath and spoke again in a calmer voice. "Mmmm you always smell so good, love."_

_She shuddered and tried to pull away again, which earned her another tug on her hair before he flung her back to the floor, closing and locking the door behind him._

_Immediately she stood and started banging on the door, screaming to be let go._

Kono sat up in bed, a scream caught in her throat, and she looked around urgently, confirming that it had only been a nightmare. Sweat was pouring down her back, soaking the sheets, matting her hair to her head and her hands were violently shaking.

Without thought she picked up her cell from the night stand and tapped his picture.

It wasn't 3 rings and his sleepy voice was in her ear. "McGarrett."

And suddenly the words were caught in her throat; she didn't know what to say to him. She just needed to hear his voice; it was an anchor to reality.

There was shuffling on the other end of the phone then, "Kono? You ok?"

"I…" she started then stumbled again.

"I'll be right over."

"No!" Kono cringed at her harsh tone. "No…don't. I just…nightmare."

Silence on his end then, "What can I do?"

She wanted to cry at the soft, loving tone of his voice. He deserved so much more than dealing with her at 3 am. And she nearly hung up until his voice again had her gripping the phone tightly.

"Baby…" he started, concerned. They rarely used nicknames for each other and even less often used honey, baby or any other of the cute names typically used by couples. It just reinforced how concerned he was.

"Talk to me." That's all she needed, to hear his voice.

"About what?"

"Anything not case related," she said and leaned back into the pillows.

Ok," he drew out, clearly thinking. "When Mary was about six she started sleepwalking, scared the crap out of my Mom. One time she got out of the house…"

She must have dozed off, because the next thing she knew Steve was gently saying goodnight.

"Mmmm…night," she mumbled, turned off the phone and drifted into a dreamless sleep.

* * *

><p><em>Na manawa apua - Always<em>

___Side note: would y'all be interested in a...ahhhh, M rated fic that would fall directly after Unseen? I've been thinking about it, but wont bother unless you guys would be interested in reading. I usually do a low M rating, nothing to unseemly (HA!)._


	5. For My Sake

The encouragement after the last chapter was unbelievable and I thank each of you for it. It was good to know that my frustration was worth the effort. And as with all things while last chapter fought me for every word, this one just…came out. Which can be a little concerning, cause it makes you wonder if its crap cause it came out too easy. That or all your fabulous support really inspired the muse. Either way I hope you enjoy. Initially I thought there would be one more chapter, but I have so many places still to go that I'll either do a supersized final chapter or spilt it into two smaller ones, it'll depend how it flows.

Anyway, thank you again and on with the show...

* * *

><p>Chapter 5: For My Sake<p>

* * *

><p>Walking into work the next morning Kono was dragging; she hadn't slept well before the nightmare and had gotten maybe 3 hours of quality sleep after. And she felt like an ass for calling Steve at 3 in the morning. It had been her choice to end the relationship and yet, he was the first person she called in the dead of night when fear had gripped her. She had to apologize to him at the very least.<p>

Then she looked at her desk and a small smile crept onto her face. Placed neatly in front of her keyboard was a large cup of coffee and a malsada. They were from her favorite coffee place and the coffee - after picking up the double insulated cup and taking a sip – was hot.

Looking around she saw him in his office, head bent over the desk, clearly concentrating on something. Taking the coffee with her she opened the office door and leaned against the frame, waiting for him to finish what he was doing - she had no doubt he knew she was there.

After a moment he signed the paper and looked up, smiling at her.

"Morning," he said in that tone that was usually reserved for mornings that started with both of them in bed and Kono felt it low in her belly. Damn him again.

"Morning." She held up the cup. "Thanks."

He shrugged and leaned back in the chair. "Thought you might need it after last night."

Looking around and confirming they were alone in the space, Kono stepped fully into his office. "Look, about last night…I'm sorry, I shouldn't have called you."

Confusion crossed his face. "Why? I told you to. You did."

As if it was that simple.

"I know, but I broke it off, I shouldn't be calling you in the middle of the night for…comfort. It's not fair to you."

He got out of the chair and walked around the desk, sitting on it in front of her. "I know our personal relationship is…on hold, but I'd like to think we can still be friends. Are we still friends, Kono?"

It was a loaded question and they both knew it. And while 'on hold' was not what she intended when she threw him out of her house, that's what it felt like. Their relationship seemed to be suspended somehow, waiting for the end of the case to breathe again. And she found herself anticipating the potential of it having new life. What this man did to her was confounding sometimes; she wanted him both in and out of her life at the same time. It was frustrating.

She smiled at him, a real smile that revealed her dimples. "Yeah, we're friends Steve." The _and so much more _was unsaid but understood.

"And being there for each other is what friends do, so I don't see the problem."

They shared a small, knowing smile and she nodded. "Then…thank you. For the coffee and the call."

He pushed off the desk and reached out; touching her upper arm and damn if that little contact didn't send sparks through her entire body, which was already craving him.

"You're welcome."

She nodded and headed out of his office, his voice stopping her at the last second.

"Would you like to go on a date?"

Slowly she turned, unsure if she had heard him right, but based on the shit-eating grin on his face, she certainly had.

"What?"

He hadn't moved from his place in front of his desk. "Date, with me? Would you like to have one?"

"Steve…we've seen each other naked, I think that ship has sailed."

Shaking his head and smiling broader he replied, "No, it hasn't. We never went on a date before and right now we aren't together, remember?"

"I…you want to go on a date? Dinner, movie, the whole thing."

"Well, that's not my idea of a date, but if that's what you want to do, ok."

Now she was curious. "What's your idea of a date?"

He winked at her. "Say yes and then you'll find out."

"I…" _No._ "Yes."

"Good. We'll do it after we catch Ellison. Which, by the way, Chin worked some magic last night and this morning. We've got warrants for all three potential locations."

"Nice…HPD in also?"

"Yep." Now he paused and looked at her, unsure. "I want to split the team, one person with each HPD raid. But that leaves one…"

She easily read between the lines. "You want me to stay here."

He looked vaguely horrified. "No! No…I wouldn't ask you to do that. I want you to come with me."

"Oh." She considered it a moment then nodded. "Ok."

His eyes widened in surprise, he was not expecting her to agree so easily.

"I'm not unreasonable Steve." She sighed. "And I know you're trying to help."

"Ok, once Chin and Danny get back from collecting the warrants we will be on our way."

She nodded but before she could turn away he pulled her into a tight hug, careful of the coffee she still held. For a moment she froze but then relaxed into him, wrapping one arm around his waist and putting her head on his shoulder. God she needed this. She needed him. Why had she pushed him away so hard? Oh, yes, it was her intense fear of him seeing her like a victim, which up to this point he had not treated her at all like one – not even remotely. He had treated her as he always did, as capable but at that point in time needing a little extra support.

Wordlessly he released her and she could read the emotions on his face, he was concerned for her and she suspected he needed the reassurance as much as she did.

"Call me when we're ready."

He nodded and she left his office, feeling better than she had in two days.

It wasn't long before Chin and Danny returned and they quickly split up the teams with HPD, Kono still with Steve and headed to one of the rougher neighborhoods on the island.

Before breaking to hook up with their HPD teams Steve spoke. "Ok, radio channel five. We all hit at once, radio silence until the raids are done then report in. Remember we are looking for anything that could be the murder weapon, it's included in the warrant." A glance at Kono then, "I want Ellison alive and in that interrogation room today."

The team nodded and disbursed quickly, they needed to be in place in 30 minutes.

* * *

><p>In 25 minutes they were positioned just outside the neighborhood, two unmarked HPD cars carrying five more police officers behind them.<p>

Kono adjusted her vest one more time before checking her weapon. It felt good to have something to concentrate on besides her personal issues. And despite the fact that Steve was sitting in the car with her, silent as he usually was before raids, there was no uncomfortable tension that she had anticipated between them.

"Ready?" He asked.

"As I'll ever be."

At exactly 8:30 am they sped to the house and were inside in less than a minute, shouts of "HPD" and "5-0" above the yelling of the occupants. It wasn't long before the four young men – maybe in their early 20's - who had been in the house, were corralled into the small living room, watched over by two officers while the rest and Steve and Kono searched the place.

"Nothing," he hissed and went back into the living room, giving the men his hardest glare. "Damien Ellison…where is he?"

They stared at each other but remained silent, which just pissed Steve off and he slammed his hand down hard on the table in front of them. "Fine…you want to be like that…" He turned to the officers in the room. "Arrest them all."

Suddenly the largest of them erupted. "You can't do that brah!"

"Yeah? Watch me, you fucking punk. Round em up!"

"He hasn't been here in a week." One of the men said as the leader started to turn and Steve just smirked at Kono who had been standing just behind him the whole time.

"Did he say where he was going?" she asked and stepped up next to Steve.

The same kid answered despite the nasty looks his buddies were giving him. "Never does. Dude just comes and go's as he pleases.

Steve and Kono shared a look and she turned back to them. "Where did he keep his stuff when he was here?"

"Back bedroom, sometimes he kept a duffle bag."

Steve immediately took off and she stared them down again. "He shows up here, you call HPD, understand me? He's wanted in a murder and if I find out he's been here and you didn't call I'll have you brought in for harboring a fugitive, got it?"

They all nodded and Kono started down the hall only to meet Steve halfway there. He shook his head and she sighed.

As they walked outside Steve turned on the radio to see if anyone else had something.

"Chin?"

"Place was empty, look like it had been for a while…nothing that could be a weapon yet but HPD is still checking."

"We came up empty also, but got confirmation that Ellison was here last week. Danno?"

"Must you call me that? I mean honestly…"

"Danny!" Steve snapped.

"I think I got our weapon."

Steve and Kono looked at each other surprised. "What is it?"

There was a pause then Danny spoke. "It's a…uhhh, what do you call these things? Goes on the stairs…."

"Baluster?" Kono supplied.

"Yes, thank you Kono. Baluster. This place looks like it's in the middle of construction and there it was, sitting right on the floor to be found. Right size, triangular and oh yeah…has blood and hair all over it."

Steve smiled widely at Kono. "Get CSU down there and get that thing to Charlie yesterday, I want prints and DNA done."

"Got it, Boss." Danny said and Steve could practically hear the detective smirking at him through the comm.

"See you back at HQ," Steve said and clicked the comm off.

Taking a deep breath he looked around the neighborhood, contemplating the places Ellison could be hiding. He knew digging into the Maki was useless; they needed to focus on finding Ellison and if that happened to take them to the dealers then so be it.

"We'll get him," he said simply.

Kono nodded and looked at his profile. "I know."

Then he stalked off to the car, tension radiating off him. She could sense he wanted Ellison found for her (and their) sake.

Following him, Kono just hoped it would be sooner than later.

* * *

><p>Gathering back at the HQ, they reviewed what they had learned that day but mostly they were waiting for Charlie to come back with the fingerprint and DNA analysis on the baluster that Danny had found. The tech had told them the fingerprints would probably be completed before lunch but DNA would take several hours, if not a full day.<p>

It was just before one when the lab called and Kono picked up the phone, putting it on speaker for the group to hear.

"Yeah, Charlie?"

"Hey Kono, I got a confirmed match on the fingerprints on the baluster to Ellison, very sloppy by the way. And while DNA is still running, the blood type matches Ano."

"Great, thanks Charlie, call us back when DNA is done."

"Will do. And I'm still moving through Ano's laptop, going through his internet browsing now."

She hung up the phone and looked at Steve.

"Update that damn BOLO to wanted for murder and make sure TSA is on the lookout, I want this guy trapped." He instructed.

Chin replied with a smile on his face. "With pleasure."

"So we've got our guy, now we just need to catch him."

Steve tapped his fingers on the smart board, trying to figure out what he would do if he was Ellison. Until now the most serious charge against their suspect had been assault and even that hadn't stuck. So he wasn't sure if Ellison was purposely hiding from them or if they simply hadn't caught up to him yet, he did seem to have a habit of not staying in one place long. And he didn't carry a registered cell phone as far as they could tell. Smart, very smart. But the fact his fingerprints were on the murder weapon told Steve maybe this hadn't been planned, maybe something had gone horribly wrong.

It made trying to sort out the man's next move that much harder.

"Let's dig into Ellison more. Girlfriends, friends, acquaintances, anything. Check his damn Facebook if you need to. We need to find this guy."

With that they disappeared into their offices, each digging into Ellison's life.

Steve hadn't been in his office an hour when his phone rang, looking at the display he frowned. It was the lab. Charlie never called him. Ever. He always talked to Chin or Kono. Steve couldn't decide if it was because the tech was scared of him or still pining over Kono and took the brief opportunities to talk to her.

Either way, it was him Charlie was calling so Steve picked it up on the third ring with a curt, "McGarrett".

"Hey man, its Fong. I…uh, I got something in Ano's email that you guys will want to see but I thought you might want a heads up…" The tech paused, clearly unsure how to continue.

"What's in the email, Charlie?" Steve said in an even tone.

"I found it in his draft folder, it's addressed to Kono but clearly he never sent it."

Steve sat up in his chair, running the hand not holding the phone across his face. "Send it me. Just me Charlie, ok?"

"Yeah, all right. On its way."

The email was in his box almost before he had even hung up the phone.

Quickly Steve opened the email and then the attachment that held Ano's email. It was long, far longer than Steve anticipated but he took the time to read every word. Then he printed it and looked up at her office, finding it empty. His eyes darted to the smart table to find her standing there, looking tired and emotionally worn down. Grabbing the paper off the printer as he opened the door, Steve called to her and nodded into his office.

Kono gave him a curious look but followed, walking past Steve, who was holding the door open. As she entered he closed the door taking a deep breath. There was only one way to go about this with her, just dive in.

"Charlie found an email on Ano's computer."

"Great, it is helpful?"

"Yeah, but it's also addressed to you."

"What?" Now she started shaking a little. "What does it say?"

Steve handed her the page he had printed and watched carefully as she started to read, eventually kneeling down in front of her, placing his hands gently on her knees.

She sensed him kneeling but was lost in the words on the paper. Ano had started out apologizing for barging back into her life when he knew he had no right to do so, but he was desperate (clearly the email had been written before he intended to contact her). He was moving drugs around the island and he hadn't realized it until it was far too late and he was in too deep to get out. It had started as a messenger job to make extra money but six months in he realized not everything was on the up and up, got suspicious and looked in one of the packages, discovering he was really carrying heroin and delivering it to the dealers. It had cut at him, moving the drug that had caused them both so much pain. When the Maki realized he had figured it out they threatened his legit job and his life, told him everything would be fine if he cooperated and even offered him the opportunity to deal himself and make more money than he ever could at the bike shop.

That's when he had tried to walk away and the visits to his work and home happened. He knew there was no getting out.

Kono read the last paragraph and tears started to flow silently down her cheeks. She couldn't even be bothered to wipe them away.

Because that last part was a missive…an apology to her for what he had done, what he had put her through. Until the moment when he knew his life was truly threatened he'd thought he had all the time in the world to tell her that he'd loved her more than anyone in his life and that what he had done to her that day weighed on his soul, pulling it down into an abyss he had only recently been able to pull himself out of.

_I was in a dark place, and I pulled you down with me. Shattering your faith in me…in us. It felt like a dream at the time, a terrible nightmare that I couldn't pull myself out of. I won't ask your forgiveness because I don't deserve it. But I will tell you that from the bottom of my heart I am sorry for what I put you through, I'm sorry I hurt you physically and emotionally. And all I want is for you to be happy. _

_I'm in trouble, Kono, real trouble. And if something happens to me I wanted you to know, I owe you that much. _

Carefully she folded the paper in half, fingering the edges gently.

"Did you read this?" she asked.

"Yeah," he replied quietly and reached up, carefully cupping her cheek. "You ok?"

"Yeah, I think so." She looked down at the paper again, still tracing the edges with her fingers. "I think one day I might be able to forgive him. Maybe."

There was silence between them, Steve's hand had fallen down to her shoulder and his thumb was rubbing slowly across her collarbone. God, all she wanted to do was curl up into him and pretend this entire thing was over.

"At least we know he…" She blew out a breath. "He didn't know, he wanted out."

Their moment was interrupted by Danny knocking then quickly entering the office. He actually looked guilty for interrupting.

"Sorry guys but we got a hit on the BOLO."

"Where?" Steve asked as he and Kono stood almost simultaneously.

"Patrol cop saw him entering a house in Waialae. He's currently sitting on it until we get there, making sure our guy doesn't leave."

Kono let the email flutter to the table and followed Steve out the door.

* * *

><p>HPD wasn't even five minutes behind them but Steve was in no mood to prolong this. So the team breached the house quickly, Steve and Kono going through the front door with Danny and Chin pushing through a side door, the patrol officer was left outside on the off chance Ellison got by them.<p>

The house was enormous, and eerily silent. On either side of a double staircase were a dining room and library, in front of them and behind the stairs was what looked like the kitchen and family room. The sun was quickly setting; as soon as it did they would be at a distinct disadvantage.

Silently Steve indicated for her to move forward while he cleared the two front rooms. In his comm he could hear the breathing of Chin and Danny.

As he cleared the second room, Steve heard a distinctly female grunt followed by a loud thump, after that the sounds of a struggle could be heard but they sounded muffled, far away.

"Kono," he hissed and moved toward kitchen where she had gone to clear. "Kono, answer me…God dammit…Chin and Danny, kitchen."

"Working our way there," Danny responded.

Gun up, Steve moved under the stairs slowly, the noises coming through the comm had completely stopped. As he was about to say her name again he crossed the threshold into the kitchen and froze in place.

Kono was standing there, blood dripping down the side of her face from a cut above her eye, Ellison's arm wrapped firmly around her shoulders, gun held to her temple.

* * *

><p>Well, it was a resounding yes on the M rated chapter so I'm also working on that. I might have it up early next week with the last chapter of this one to follow. It'll depend how much my smut muse cooperates with me.<p> 


	6. Paradise

_**And so the end begins…this is the last chapter, readers. AN at the bottom this time around but first a warning…there is an M rated section near the end, you'll know it when you see it if you want to avoid it.**_

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><p>Chapter 6: Paradise, Coldplay<p>

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><p>Kono watched Steve's face go from furious to steely in seconds. It was ridiculous really that her freakin comm had caused all this, or at least contributed. Scanning the floor, she saw her gun half under the stove.<p>

Nice.

At that moment she was angry with herself and if she felt like an ass earlier, this was certainly not helping change that feeling. Kono prided herself on _not _being the weak link, _not _being the clichéd girl who was held hostage every time you turned around.

And yet, there she was, Ellison's arm wrapped tightly around her upper chest, a gun pressed a little too forcefully into her temple.

"Let her go, Ellison," Steve said evenly and she saw Chin and Danny approach slowly from behind, guns up.

"Don't think so, 5-0."

"Then you are leaving here in a body bag."

"Not sure you are in the position to make statements like that, buddy." To make his point he shoved Kono's head with the gun barrel and she had to resist the urge to retaliate - she had little doubt he would shoot her.

Steve smiled in that frightening way of his. "Oh, but I am."

Something about that made Ellison pause and stare at the SEAL, gauging him. "Look, man, here's how it's gonna go. The lady and I are going to walk out of this house, as soon as I'm a safe distance I'll let her go."

Steve seemed to consider that a moment before returning his laser stare to Ellison. "How about no?"

Ignoring Steve, Ellison pulled her backwards, obviously intending to go out the sliding doors to the pool, keeping Kono carefully placed directly in front of him.

As they got to the doors, Ellison hissed in her ear not to move and released her shoulders to unlock the door.

Steve realized what she was planning a second before it happened. As Ellison let go of her shoulders – keeping the gun firmly in place at her temple – Kono snapped her head back, crashing it full force into Ellison's nose. The man let out a howl of pain and moved back, dropping the gun from her head, so she turned and planted a right hook into his jaw.

Before the team could even move - or before Ellison could react - she completed her assault with a firm kick to the groin that had Ellison crying in pain and falling to the floor. Kono grabbed her assailant's gun from him as he fell.

"Whoa, Kono!" Danny said and approached. She handed him Ellison's gun and took a step back, taking a moment to catch her breath.

Danny started to snap cuffs on Ellison. "You are under arrest for the murder of Ano Kalani and assaulting a police officer and whatever else we can come up with between here and the station." Then the detective read Ellison his rights.

Steve holstered his gun and approached Kono, his hand instantly going to the cut on her head, just ghosting over the skin. "You ok?"

She actually smiled at him, a real, full, dimple-exposing smile. "Actually…yes."

"What the hell happened?" he asked while still inspecting the cut which had stopped bleeding.

Her expression darkened. "The damn comm was coming out of my ear. I stopped for two seconds to adjust it and Ellison grabbed me from behind. It fell out, he smacked my head into the cabinet, dropped my gun and you know the rest."

"Let's get this guy back to HPD and processed."

She nodded wearily. Exhaustion was starting to take over and it was just the thrill of having Ellison in custody that kept her going as they took him back to HQ and put him in interrogation.

Kono wisely stood on the other side of the glass as Steve and Danny questioned the man.

"Dude coulda made a lot of money," Ellison said. "But he had to get nosy and then get a conscience."

"So you killed him."

Now the man's eyes narrowed at the pair. "I ain't saying no more until I get my lawyer."

Danny sighed. "You know we have the weapon with your prints and Ano's blood on it right?"

Ellison just stared at him silently.

"Fine, fine," Danny said and waved his arms. "You'll get him in the morning. For right now you have lovely accommodations at HPD waiting."

As they walked back into HQ after booking Ellison Steve turned to the group. "Drinks?" They all looked at him skeptically a moment before he amended, "On me…and yes, I have my wallet."

Chin and Danny quickly nodded. Even Kono agreed despite her bone deep exhaustion. She needed some down time and to be with the people she cared about the most.

* * *

><p>Staring out into the ocean from her seat at the table, Kono took what felt like her first breath in two days. What Ano had done still weighed on her – heavily – but the memories and emotions were becoming more manageable. She had the email Ano had intended to send her and was planning on rereading it again eventually, but for now she took the peace where she could find it. With her ohana.<p>

A hand slipped over hers on the table and she looked over at Steve who was sitting adjacent to her at the head.

"Whatcha thinking?" he asked.

"I'm thinking…" she couldn't quite put her thoughts into words. "That everything will be ok."

He smirked at her. "Yes, it will."

They shared a small smile, knowing they were both talking about their relationship, because they knew it _would_ be all right. Then she leaned into him, speaking quietly, "I'm sorry."

He looked surprised. "About what?"

"Throwing you out of my house, pushing you away…I know you did what you had too. I was scared and took it out on you. I thought you would start treating me different, acting like I was a victim and…incapable."

In a rare show of affection in front of the other team members, Steve reached out and stroked her hair gently before cupping the back of her head. "You do not need to apologize, I understand. And you were a victim Kono, emphasis on _were_; now you are a capable officer and that's how you deserved to be treated. We all have those cases that are personal…me especially. But it's all in how you handle it. And you…handled it extraordinarily. Far better than I did."

She just nodded and then pulled away, quickly scanning the group. If they had noticed their interaction none of them showed it, Chin and Danny were lost in conversation as were Max and Kamenakona.

It wasn't long before the exhaustion took over and Kono bid everyone goodbye, standing to go. Steve stood with her and insisted on walking her to her car. As they approached the Cruze she turned to him.

"You didn't have to walk me out here."

His eyes met hers and he leaned in slowly, capturing her lips with his gently, her hands instinctively going to his chest, grasping his t-shirt. As he pulled away, Steve placed his forehead on hers and said, "Yeah, I did."

They stood there breathing in each other, Kono's fingers still wound into the cotton of his shirt, for several minutes before he pulled away. This kiss felt different, it certainly started a fire in Kono's veins and had her body humming, but there was also something else behind it; something deeper that had not been there before. It felt like coming home.

"I'll be at your place Saturday at five. PM that is."

"Huh?"

He gave her one of those deadly smiles. "For our date; if you're up to it."

She smirked at him. "Yep. See you at five."

He took a step back from her. "Great." As she got into her car he called out to her again. "Oh, and make sure you're wearing comfortable shoes and bring your bathing suit."

Before she could ask questions, Steve walked away, leaving Kono to wonder what he had up his sleeve.

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><p>Just as she was lacing up her boot the doorbell rang. She looked up at the clock.<p>

Five on the dot. He was nothing if not prompt.

Opening the door she found Steve standing there with a wide, childlike smile on his face. He was dressed in lightweight cargo shorts and a white t-shirt and boots similar to hers.

"Ready?" he asked and quickly looked her up and down. Shorts and loose shirt with a bikini on under it and hiking boots.

"Yep, gonna tell me where we are going yet?"

"Wasn't planning on it."

"Do I need to bring anything?"

"Nope, got it covered."

She narrowed her eyes at him but tossed her house keys and cell into a small wristlet.

Climbing into his truck, Kono noted a fairly large pack on the backseat; it was one she had seen him use when hiking. Now she had an idea of what they were doing. Though knowing Steve, it would be more than it appeared to be, nothing was ever simple with him.

As he got in and started the car she spoke, "So, what trail are we taking?"

"Hmmm?" he said while backing out of her small driveway.

"Come on Steve, boots and a pack on the backseat, what trail?"

"You'll see," he responded without looking at her.

She shook her head at him and looked out the window. They drove for a couple miles in silence before he spoke again. "How are you doing?"

"Fine."

"No, I mean…nightmares?"

She glanced at him before looking out the front again. "Not much. More…bad memories then nightmares."

"You haven't called."

"I haven't needed to."

He nodded. "Ok." Silence again, she could tell he was having some kind of internal debate, then, "Are you ever going to tell me about him? About your relationship?"

She shrugged. "I don't know, Steve. Maybe."

"Will you answer one question?" She eyed him warily then nodded. "Was he on the drugs when you met him?"

It was a fairly safe question as far as she was concerned so she answered. "No, he wasn't. He didn't get into for about a year and a half. Started with marijuana, then he moved onto the heavier stuff. I tried to get him to stop. But he wouldn't. So I broke it off with him. I couldn't be involved with that; my career was on the line."

"Is that when he…"

"Yeah. Begged me to come over, I agreed. Biggest mistake of my life."

Steve put one hand over hers and squeezed. "You were there for six hours, Kono, how did no one notice you were missing?" He was pushing his luck and he knew it, but this was the most she had talked about it and Steve wanted to keep her going.

For a moment it looked like she wasn't going to answer. "I was training that day and then meeting friends and I told Chin I'd be home by 10. I was seventeen, Steve, and pretty responsible despite some of the stupid teenage things I did. And I was with my friends when Ano called around 3. Told them I was going to meet him then head home. I wasn't due home for another hour when I…got away." She shrugged again. "And that was two questions, Steve."

"Ok, sorry. I'm done."

"Thanks."

"No more of that…" he declared and pulled into a small, dusty, gravel parking lot.

She looked around curiously. There wasn't another car to be seen but there was a trail visible, though clearly not often used. They were deep into the island, and while Kono was familiar with the area, she was not with this particular spot.

"Interesting first date choice," she said, though with a broad smile.

"Well, you don't seem like the dinner and a movie kind of girl."

"Indeed not," she agreed and they hopped out of the truck, Steve grabbing the pack on the seat.

An hour later Kono was grinning from ear to ear, they had slowly made their way up the trail, stopping often to look at the scenery. It was the most fun she'd had in months. Steve seemed to be having as good a time as she was, if not more. As they walked he pointed out plants and birds, giving her tidbits and while Kono knew at least half of what he was telling her, his childlike exuberance had her just enjoying the ride and letting him talk.

Arriving at a small ledge they stopped.

"Wow," Kono breathed out at the sight in front of her. The lush green forest was laid out before her and in the far background was the ocean, the sun approaching the horizon.

"Never seen the island quite like this, huh?"

"Never," she whispered. Despite spending her entire life there, Kono had rarely ventured deep onto the island. Her activities had generally kept her on the beach and on the occasions she had gone for a hike, it had never been this far inland or this high. While she was disappointed she had missed out on this before, she was happy it had been Steve who had taken her for the first time.

His fingers twining with hers brought Kono's attention back to the here and now and she looked up at him, smiling.

"There's more," he said and indicated the trail with his head.

"Can't wait."

They continued up the mountain slowly but surely, just when she thought they couldn't go any higher Steve veered off the trail, a large grin on his face. Again he took her hand and led her through a fairly thick group of trees, but when once they pushed through, Kono was again in awe.

Before her was a large open space surrounded by trees, but the highlight was a small waterfall that fed into a fairly large lake.

"Steve…how did you know this was here?"

His face scrunched up just a bit before he answered. "You probably don't want to know."

One eyebrow rose at him. "Oh, now I totally do."

"Let's just say Mary had a boyfriend who was very familiar with these parts of the island."

Now she laughed a little. "Well, I'm glad she did."

He seemed anxious to get off the topic of his sister and dropped the pack he had been carrying. "Hungry?"

"Starving." She responded and watched with interest as he carefully pulled out a small cooler from the pack. Then a blanket which he spread on the ground and anchored with the backpack.

"Sit," he said and she obeyed, removing her shoes and crossing her legs as he opened the cooler to several generous portions of sushi and two still ice cold Longboards.

"Impressive," she said and took a long drink of beer. "And this is definitely better than dinner and a movie."

"Good," he said and handed her a container and chopsticks.

After a nearly two hour walk she was famished and they ate in silence, quickly finishing off the sushi and beers.

After cleaning up Steve nodded to the lake. "Swim?"

Kono smiled and nodded then approached him slowly, stripping off her t-shirt as she walked. Steve swallowed hard and watched as she stood no more than three feet in front of him and stripped off her shorts as well. Revealing that the bottom of her already small royal-blue bikini was held together by nothing more than strings.

_Oh dear God._

She stood in front of him like that a moment, clearly amused as his eyes roamed over her body as if he had never seen her in a bikini before.

Pointing a finger at him she spoke, "So…you gonna change or what?"

That seemed to break him out of his trance and he nodded. "Yeah…yeah."

Then he stripped off his shirt and cargo shorts, revealing a pair of swim trunks underneath. Now it was Kono's turn to rove her eyes over him. God, had it only been a week since she touched him last, it felt like a year. There was an ache in her chest, the kind that developed when you missed someone with your heart and soul. Until now she hadn't had the time to acknowledge the ache that had formed after she shoved him out of her house. But it was real and it was palpable and it hurt…it hurt so much to think she had pushed him away when she needed him the most.

But he was here now and he was looking at her like she was the only person in the world.

Then his hand reached up and cupped her cheek gently. "You ok?"

She gave him her broadest smile. "Yeah, actually."

"Then let's swim."

Nodding she headed toward the lake but his hand grabbed her upper arm, stopping her. Looking back, Steve was pointing up, toward the top of the waterfall. Then he led the way to the side, where it was covered in mostly flat boulders.

"It's at least fifty feet deep at the base of the waterfall."

Excitement coiled in her belly, they were going to jump. Hell yes. Best date ever.

Effortlessly they climbed up the side, quickly reaching the top.

Steve held out one hand. "Ladies first."

She grinned widely at him and approached the edge, taking a moment to look around; it really was spectacular up here. Then she looked down and jumped.

When she broke the surface of the water all Kono could think was that she wanted to do that again. And again. There was still adrenaline spiking through her veins but she had enough sense to back up, allowing Steve to follow her down.

After he hit the water she made a beeline for the shore, adjusting her suit as she went, when she hit the water her bottoms had slid indecently down. Not that there was anyone in their vicinity, but still, she didn't need Steve getting any ideas.

As she climbed out of the lake Kono looked back to confirm Steve was following and she clambered back up the rocks to the top. Eyeing the drop down, Kono confirmed that the rock edge of the falls dipped in instead of out toward the lake.

Once Steve got up to the top she smiled at him before turning back and diving off headfirst, executing a perfect somersault and a half midair before breaking the water with her feet.

"Holy shit," Steve whispered as he watched her dive perfectly. There was no outdoing that so he just jumped as he had before, meeting her at the bottom where she was treading water with a huge grin on her face.

Stopping in front of her Steve said, "Where did you learn that?"

"Cliff diving, brah."

"Of course."

Kono backed up a bit more until she could stand on the sandy bottom, the water lapping at her waist and he followed with a vaguely predatory look on his face.

When his feet his sand his hands found her hips, playing with the strings on her bikini.

Their eyes met and simultaneously they moved toward each other, lips meeting tentatively at first. But then the spark between them took over, and the kiss quickly became passionate.

Her fingers made their way into his hair, pulling gently while one of his hands slid up her back, stopping between her shoulder blades where he pulled her against him. The other hand was still busy with the bikini string, pulling it gently between his fingers without actually untying it.

Desire rushed through her, and she swiped her tongue across his lower lip which earned her a low moan from deep in this throat.

They pulled apart momentarily, both panting.

"Thank you," she whispered and looked down at his chest, at the rivulets of water slipping across the bare skin.

Instead of responding he ran his thumb slowly across her lower lip.

Then he leaned in and kissed her deeply, showing her how much he had missed her in just the brief time they had been apart.

She responded eagerly and quickly the kiss heated up again, tongues meeting between now open mouths.

When his fingers dug into the skin of her hip she moaned and arched into him, desperate to feel him again.

They pulled apart again and their eyes met briefly before his dropped down, fascinated with the path the water dripping from her hair was taking down her neck, across her collarbone and then between her breasts.

It was too tempting, and he ducked his head down, running his tongue down the same path the water just had, stopping in the valley between her breasts. He was rewarded with Kono moaning and letting her head fall back, exposing her wet, exquisite throat to him.

Never one to let an opportunity pass him by, Steve moved back up her body, letting his tongue and lips lap up the water that was running down her throat in little streams. Again she moaned and he tightened his hold between her shoulders, keeping her firmly in place against him. His other hand was gently pulling on the string of the bikini, slowly undoing the knot.

It was erotic and sensual and dear God she wanted this to go on forever, the sensations his lips were sending through her body were electric and frighteningly strong. Her body was on fire, every nerve ending at painful attention for him. He was the only man she had ever been with that had elicited such a response from her body.

When he nipped at the bottom of her jaw she moaned again and realized that her hands were still hanging limply at her sides where they had dropped when his assault on her neck started. So she gripped onto his biceps as he tugged on the string of her bottoms.

"Steve…" she whispered as his lips moved back down toward her breasts, his nose pushing the material of her top to the side, allowing him better access to lick at her already incredible sensitive nipple.

"Steve…" Now it was a keening, desperate moan and she gripped onto his bicep even tighter, feeling the muscles contract under her fingers.

"What do you want?" he asked and pulled one final time on the string, releasing the knot. She was nearly exposed to him now and Kono was desperate to get the other side off. So she slid one hand down her side and swiftly pulled the other knot, bringing the blue material up between them before tossing it on a nearby rock.

She met his eyes. "You. I want you."

He released her and then his swim trunks where next to her bottoms.

"Are you sure?" he asked, sincerity deep in his eyes.

"More than I ever have been."

Pulling her body into his tightly, Steve placed his lips near her ear and whispered so lowly she almost didn't hear him, "Aloha Au la 'Oe."

Kono sucked in a deep, startled breath and froze in his arms, letting the words sink in. _I love you._ Holy shit…he loved her. Even after all the insanity of the last couple days: pushing him away, accusing him of going behind her back to dig for information, her fear that he would see her as something less than she was.

He loved her.

The last man to tell her that was Ano. Steve was certainly no Ano and the words meant so much more.

She pulled back from him and traced her fingers along the line of his jaw, up to his temple and into his still wet hair.

Then, "I love you, too."

Almost before she could get the words out his lips were crushed to hers, one hand on her now bare bottom, the other anchored back between her shoulders. Then he was lifting her slightly and pressing himself into her, groaning as he did so.

Once he was completely within her, she wrapped her legs and arms around him allowing Steve to move her body up and down while she rolled her hips in a way that had him seeing stars in no time.

"Kono…baby…" he panted into her neck and sucked on the tender flesh there as she somehow moved herself up and down while still rolling her hips. It was impressive as hell and was quickly hurtling him toward orgasm.

"Kono," he gritted out between clenched teeth as he tried to keep control of himself. "God…"

Her fingers grabbed the back of his hair and her breath was coming out in short sighs, a sign he knew meant she was close.

His fingers ghosted down her spine slowly and he whispered to her, "Come on, baby."

That was all the encouragement she needed and suddenly her body tensed then arched, Kono screaming his name into the empty forest. The feel of her tightening around him sent Steve over the edge as well and he buried his face into her neck as he released into her.

They stayed that way for several minutes, Kono still wrapped around his torso, face buried in his neck.

Eventually she felt him walking them both toward shore, stopping to grab the suits they had discarded. They only pulled apart long enough to get somewhat dried and put their clothes back on.

He approached her and reached out one hand, running his fingers across her jaw before grasping her wrist and pulled her down onto the blanket with him.

"It's almost sunset."

They settled down on the blanket, Steve on his back, using the pack as a pillow, Kono curled into his side, head in the crook of his neck, his fingers running up and down her back as the sun slowly set.

Despite the fact they couldn't see the horizon the colors over the tree tops was phenomenal, shades of pink, red and yellow.

"I assume you have a flashlight to get us back down that trail," she mumbled into his shoulder, entirely too comfortable in her current position.

"Full moon," he replied back into her hair. "It'll be plenty of light. But yes, I brought a flashlight."

"Always prepared are we?"

He laughed lightly then, "Always." And he pulled her closer. "We should start heading down soon."

She mumbled into his shoulder again, "I like it here, it's so peaceful."

"That it is," he sighed into her hair.

Her fingers started dancing across his t-shirt, moving lower and lower. Steve stilled beneath her.

He rolled her onto her back and pinned her down with his body. "I guess another hour won't hurt."

* * *

><p><em><strong>One Month Later<strong>_

As she skewered a tomato onto the end of the kabob she was making, Kono's cell buzzed from its spot on the kitchen counter. Wiping her hands off she woke the device and read the text from Steve.

_Meeting with Gov over. Heading home._

_K. _She responded and dropped the phone back to the counter.

Kono had ten minutes before he would be home. Home. She chuckled at the thought, somehow his place had become "home" to them both. Over the last month more and more of her stuff had made its way to his place, it wasn't anything they discussed, it just…happened. She was practically living here and even Chin now started looking for her at his place rather than her own.

Taking another drink of her beer she decided to start the grill and opened the door to the lanai.

Steve opened the front door to the sound of loud hip hop music blaring through his living room speakers, based on the beat it was either Pitbull or Flo Rida, he couldn't tell them apart to save his life, he only humored Kono who liked listening to it when she was in a good mood. Twice he had walked in on her dancing along in the kitchen, which had led to activities that made the music at least tolerable.

"Kono!" he yelled as he dropped his bag and headed toward the kitchen. No response. He shook his head; the music was so loud he was surprised the neighbors hadn't come over. "Ko-no!" he yelled again and paused slightly at the kitchen doorway. Six skewers with meat and veggies sat on a plate on the island along with an open beer, her cell and a piece of paper.

Ah, a note. It was a rare occurrence for Kono to leave a note, but who knew. Maybe she'd run out of something and headed to the elderly couple next door who absolutely adored her. Probably because on more than one occasion she had taken the time to sit and listen to their stories.

Either way he picked up the paper and froze. It contained exactly one word, and that word struck terror into him like nothing else could.

_Shelburne. _

_No…no, no, no._

Steve pulled his gun from its holster at his hip and looked around again, this time with a keener eye. Nothing was amiss in the kitchen except the door to the lanai was wide open. Taking several deep breaths to center his thoughts he approached and stepped outside.

All was calm.

Tentatively he called her name one more time. Still no response.

Then he noticed the grill was on. Turning to head back to the house his stomach turned and for the first time since he was a kid, tears started to well in his eyes.

On the frame of the doors leading out to the lanai was blood, smeared from about Kono's head height down to nearly the bottom of the frame. It wasn't much, but it was enough to tell him something very bad had happened.

_God, no. Please no. This cannot be happening. _

Wo Fat had Kono. And he wanted Shelburne in return.

END

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><p><em>AN: Before you start throwing things at me, remember this is a trilogy and there is one more fic coming, Unravel. Which will hopefully be up in the next 2-3 weeks. In the meantime please leave a review as they are always appreciated even if I don't have time to respond to each one. You guys are fabulous and I will try not to leave you hanging too long.<em>

_As a side note, while I did not see the ep Monday (the husband and I watch on Friday nights), I did catch the promo for next week and who wants McGarrett to punch Delano right in the damn face when he mentions Kono? And why do I have a feeling that the writers are going to leave poor Kono swimming in the deep blue sea all summer and we won't find out what happens until fall?_


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